Something interesting has been spotted on the roads in Malaysia—Jaafar Musa of the Malaysian Electric Vehicle Owners Club (myEVOC) Facebook group managed to capture the new Ford Explorer on the North-South Expressway. As we all know, the Blue Oval doesn’t sell electric vehicles here—and as far as we know, currently has no plans to do so—so the fact that one has been spotted on our shores is noteworthy to say the least.
Why is it here?
Now, you might be wondering if Ford is testing the car locally ahead of an impending launch, but I’d tell you not to get your hopes up. There are a number of telltale signs that point towards this particular car’s mission, not least the Cologne number plate (denoted by the K prefix, or Köln), which means the car is registered under Ford of Europe in Germany (headquartered in Cologne).
The second is the large “Charge Around the Globe” script emblazoned on the side, along with the hashtag #ChargeAroundtheGlobe on the rear windscreen. A quick search led us to Ford of Europe’s ongoing attempt to set a world record of driving an EV around the world, with adventurer Lexie Alford behind the wheel.
Alford, of course, won’t be the first person to circumnavigate the globe in an EV, given that there have been at least one successful attempt previously. But hers appears to be the first that will be certified by RecordSetter, an alternative to the Guinness World Records.
Alford is aiming to travel no less than 28,900km in a single direction and cover at least five continents, and she has already completed her European, African and Australian legs. She is aiming to follow in the footsteps of Aloha Wanderwell, who became the first woman to drive around the world, doing so in a Ford Model T between 1922 and 1927.
According to the special RecordSetter website, Alford is in the midst of her Asian leg and will likely drive over the Americas as well before completing her journey where she started in Nice, France. The map shows that she’s currently in Cambodia, but the site’s FAQ states there is a five-day delay in the map, giving her ample time to drive to Malaysia. In total, Alford has covered 15,598.3km over 125 days and counting since she set off in September.
Ford and Alford appear to be using several pre-production units of the Explorer (all left-hand drive in the Arctic Blue hero colour) in their record attempt. The car you see here carries the registration K-MT 3818 E that has not been seen in their European, African and Australian legs, nor the first part of their Asian leg that saw Alford drive from India to Bhutan.
What is an Explorer? And why are we not getting it?
The record attempt obviously serves to market the new Explorer, a five-seater electric SUV based on the Volkswagen ID.4—continuing a joint venture between Ford and VW. The partnership has already spawned the second-generation VW Amarok pick-up truck, built on the bones of the latest Ford Ranger.
The crossover carries Ford styling—including a large 14.6-inch portrait touchscreen similar to the one used on the Ranger and Mustang Mach-E—but utilising the ID.4’s MEB modular electric architecture and running gear.
A total of three variants will be made available, including two rear-wheel-drive models. The base model gets a 168hp electric motor, while the long-range model receives a more powerful 282hp motor. At the top of the lineup sits a dual-motor all-wheel-drive version with a combined output of 335hp.
No other details have been confirmed just yet, but the Explorer is expected to use 52kW and 77kW batteries, the latter targeted at delivering a maximum of around 500km in the long-range RWD model. The car should be able to accept the same 170kW of DC fast charging as its VW Group derivatives, filling up the smallest battery from 10 to 80% in 25 minutes.
So why should you not expect the Explorer in Malaysia? Well, the car is meant for European markets only; Ford also sells a larger petrol-powered Explorer in the US, as well as a few left-hand-drive markets like South Korea and the Philippines.
Perhaps the biggest reason is that in Southeast Asia, at least, Ford is focusing on its pick-up-based models like the Ranger and the Everest SUV. Stung by reliability issues for its Powershift dual-clutch transmissions, the company pulled out of the passenger car market in this region back in 2018. If it does want to make a return to the market with an EV, it will likely do so with a global model like the Mustang Mach-E, rather than a Euro-focused product like the Explorer.
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